


Wooing

by wwwinteriscoming



Series: Pick your fights [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Enemies to Lovers, Flirting Is Hard, Fluff, I approve of this being an ao3 tag wow, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Wooing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:23:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7634848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wwwinteriscoming/pseuds/wwwinteriscoming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>woo  (wo͞o)<br/>v. wooed, woo·ing, woos<br/>v.tr.<br/>1. To seek the affection of (someone, especially a woman) with the intent to marry or begin a romantic relationship.<br/>2. To gain the favor of (someone) or move (someone) to do something by entreaties or inducements: an ad campaign that wooed customers away from their usual brand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wooing

The second installment of his grand fight begins early the next morning. They hit the gym for weights before morning practice and he knows for a fact that when it’s this early, Nursey’s only accomplishment will have been to dress himself. So Dex brings him an extra towel and a bottle of water. He practically floats through his workout, carried on the wings of the sheer brilliance and watt power of Nursey’s grateful smile. He’s honestly a little pissed at himself for not letting himself have this brilliant, radiant happiness buzzing under his skin since the time Nurse stopped putting up a fight, but the anger is no match for the other positive emotions coursing through him.

Ransom shoves three fingers in front of his face at some point.  
“How many fingers am I holding up, Dex? Dex?? This is important, you look way too happy and casually spaced out for you to not have hit your head,” He exclaims and Dex feels himself going as red as the hairs on his head while he mutters “Three, you fuckwad.”

“Are you high then?” Holster contributes to the investigation. Well, he thinks Ransom and Holster consider it contributing. He thinks they’re being obnoxious and just levels them with an unimpressed look.

“As a kite,” Nursey responds deadpan from next to him. Dex turns in his seat, surprised.

Bitty glares at them both, because who the fuck lifts weights while high, before Nursey grins at him lazily and tells him he was only joking.

Dex thinks of how this would have gone down a few days ago. While he’s just munching on his eggs and good naturedly bumps his shoulder into Nursey’s and chirps him about how he’s barely capable of lifting completely sober, so that that’d be a serious safety hazard.

He sees himself sitting ramrod straight and purple to bursting with anger at Nurse after his dumb comment and he feels how the tension seeps through to the entire team, but most importantly, he sees Nursey’s shoulder sag a little and his smile leave his face. Jesus, he’s been a complete and utter dick.

He cleans Nursey’s plate off, because “Honestly, Nurse, I’d like it if we could survive a morning without you dropping food or cutlery or both, thanks,” but he doesn’t say it bitingly and Nursey’s responding smile is warm and grateful and Dex has to physically reign himself in, else he’d be skipping.

He gets odd looks all day, because his default expression in pretty much any class is scowling. His default expression to push through people in the hallways is annoyance. His default expression when Nursey is mentioned, is thinly veiled disgust. Except for the latter, he’s honestly not alone, it’s a practical way to go through one’s day without too much small talk.. And William Poindexter is just one angry bastard, that’s also been established. Today, however, he can’t seem to shake the omnipresent faintest hint of a smile.

Chowder actually comments on it, while they’re both coding their latest assignment, which honestly is giving even Chow little to smile about, so Dex knows that he’s not behaving as is expected from him and he can’t exactly blame his best friend for noticing and caring.

“You seem happy,” Chowder says, out of the blue, when Dex deletes almost an entire paragraph without a murder glare.

“… Maybe I am?” Dex says, because he can be non-violent and remain petty.

“Well, whatever it is that’s making you so happy, do everything you can to keep it. It’s nice to see you smile. And that,” a pointed look at his knuckles, then back to his (also clean) face “is nice, too!”

“I will,” Dex answers and he surprises himself as well as Chowder with the sincerity and honesty.

Chowder beams back at him and then turns back to his computer, still beaming. He still is when they make their way to the Haus a couple hours later and Dex can honestly say that this is one of the main reasons he loves his best friend this much. So much happiness for him can come from something so little, it’s admirable.

Dex does little things for Nursey every opportunity he can and at first, Nursey’s always surprised for a split second, eyes widening, and then he’ll smile a little pleased smile that makes all of Dex’s skin tingle.

After a few days, the novelty seems to have worn off for both of them. It’s starting to feel like a chore, but he’s nothing if not a stubborn and persevering bastard, so he keeps going. Even though he does things sloppy every now and again and sometimes Nursey won’t even look up from his work anymore.

When Nursey actually says “No, thank you,” when Dex brings him a piece of pie, he stands there, feeling lost. He’s got a piece of pie on a plate in his hand and he’s aware of his mouth hanging open and his eyes are probably very wide right now, but it’s all background noise. His tactic was backfiring at him spectacularly. Unfortunate. He tried to close his mouth discreetly and take a much needed breath at the same time and he sort of chokes a little.

Nursey looks up at that. “You okay?” He asks, a frown on his face, worry in his voice and a hand already lifted up from the keyboard and coming towards Dex. Dex zeroes in on that hand and decides he should probably get away from it if he doesn’t want to end up spilling his guts right there right then.

He’s sitting on the back porch, eating the damn piece of pie himself, when the door creaks. He doesn’t turn, because he doesn’t know what his face shows right now and he can’t risk Nursey seeing too much. Instead, he makes a mental note that he really has to fix the fucking back door. Or maybe he shouldn’t. He’s weighing the pro’s of being able to tell when someone’s coming out when he’s here sulking to the cons of having to hear it squeak all the time when he’s inside, when Ransom drops next to him and passes him a beer.

Dex doesn’t really trust himself with alcohol right now, so he just taps his can against Ransom’s in a silent thanks and lets his friend open his and take a deep gulp.

“So.. I think I know what’s up with you in regards to Nursey and I have some solid advice for your situation, but the only question left,” He takes another gulp, his Adam’s apple bobbing “is whether or not you want me to acknowledge that I know or if you want me to talk in metaphors? I can do that, too,” He finishes, turning to Dex, one of the corners of his mouth tugged up in an easygoing grin. He’s not laughing at you, Dex tells himself, he’s trying to make you feel comfortable.

“Uh, no offence, Rans, I know you’re quite the charmer, but.. How do you have advice for my specific situation? How did you even manage to read my specific situation?” Dex finally settles on as a reply. Ransom turns to him fully, but Dex, still guarded, stares straight ahead.

“Because it’s what Holtz and I stumbled over in the beginning, dude, and well, for me reading the signs.. Holster and I are pretty identical to.. Your predicament, no?”

Okay, Dex is gonna need that beer after all. He cracks it open and gulps half of it down, before turning to Ransom. He was gonna go with expressing his surprise and disbelief, but the besotted, dreamy expression and loved up smile on Ransom’s face say so much, it’s honestly a shame he hadn’t seen it earlier himself. He’s not going to dig a deeper grave for himself as a lame friend, no thank you.

“Metaphors, please,” He croaks out, because not only is he not sure he can handle talking about it outloud, they are also still at the place quite a few guys of their team live and even more of them spend all their time. He doesn’t want this getting to Nursey, because of some nosey prick, who’d decided he’d do the honors.

“So.. At first, you were playing a game together. Let’s go with hockey. And it was good, it worked. Then you noticed that you wanted.. To keep playing hockey, but a different kind. A kind with.. More touching,” Ransom and Dex wince at that last one simultaneously, but Dex nods and gestures vaguely with his hand in what he hopes is an encouraging gesture.

“But when you realized this- you thought you had to completely changed the game. Because you thought that’s what you needed to.. You know, get to the next level,” He winces again, Dex only chuckles this time. “It’s more than that. It’s more than a level, but, you know, you know what I mean, right?” Ransom says, soft, making eye contact for the first time since he started his monologue.

He probably feels like that diminishes Holster, diminishes what they have together, Dex realizes with a start, so he nods as solemnly and understanding as he can. Which is apparently sufficiently so, because Ransom exhales, relieved and continues.

“Let’s say you started playing tennis. And suddenly you’re on opposing teams and you don’t really know what the other is doing and you don’t want to playing against each other, you want to be playing with each other.”

A warmth floods Dex, just as agreeable and positive as the one Nursey feeds, but calmer, less intense. He’s lucked out with friends like this, Dex thinks quietly. He throws his arm around Ransom’s shoulder.

“Thanks, bro. So.. I should go back to playing hockey, is what you’re saying?”

“Yeah, but like, you played an awful aggressive game while he was trying to play a fair one? So maybe you should also stick to playing a fair one?”

“But I never physically fought him, now did I?” Dex asks, slightly alarmed and Ransom hangs his head. He wouldn’t just have forgotten that, right?

“No, you moron.. I mean that you always went for, like, the vicious shit, you know? Chirp flirting is the best thing there is, if you’re, like, not cutting into the actual hurtful stuff. That’s what I was getting at,” He stands, dusting off the back of his shorts.

“Holster’s class has just finished, so he’ll be here stat,” Ransom says, smiling that smile from earlier again and- honestly, how did any of them miss how lovesick this dude is?

Ransom clasps his shoulder in a bro-y sign of support and wanders inside.

The next morning, Dex doesn’t have anything for Nursey with him to practice, which means that the disaster walking doesn’t have any water with him. Dex lets him drink from his bottle, while chirping him. “I hope you realize I’m only doing this, because I’m not about to take care of your dehydrated ass later.” Nurse grins at him and downs the bottle.

When they walk to class, Nursey buys him a new bottle and chirps him about chirping him, because “It’s never going to end well, you’re never going to win,” He says, mockingly heartfelt, putting a hand to Dex’s heart. Electric shocks shudder through him and he bumps their shoulders and arms together, while they’re walking.

“Well, I’m never going to stop trying,” He responds automatically and Nursey’s “I hope so,” accompanied by a wink almost stops his heart.

It goes like that through the day, with Holster ogling them dramatically, Dex glaring at him, Ransom rolling his eyes at both of them, but distracting Holster as much as he can. Which is quite a bit, it seems, with a good make out session.

Dex offers to walk home with Nursey when they leave the Haus that evening and Nursey agrees with a blinding smile, quickly followed with a “Gonna protect me from the dangers of the night, Dexy?” that prompts a very serious “I’ll protect you from anything, Nurse,” that catches Nursey as much of guard as it does him apparently.

Nursey just stands there a minute, cocking his head from one side to the other. Dex doesn’t know what’s happening, but he wishes it wouldn’t happen on the damn front steps of the Haus.

“Let’s walk a bit before you spit out whatever it is you feel the need to spit out, please?” Dex manages to get out through slightly gritted teeth, motioning to the Haus with his head, because his hands are securely in his pocket. No, not to stop himself from reaching out. Okay, yes, maybe, whatever.

Nursey only smiles a little, all soft and Dex’s fingers itch, but then Nursey bows his head and starts walking. When they’re out of the frat street, he turns to Dex. He smiles overwhelmingly large and then bites his lips. Dex balls his fists.

“So.. I might have been misinterpreting everything here.. Which.. Totally chill, just let me know,” and he holds up a finger before Dex’s automatically triggered reaction to the “chill” can come (honestly, Nursey’s got him having Pavlovian reactions) “but.. Would you maybe.. Want to go on a date with me sometime?” And now he’s biting so hard on his lips that more than half of his bottom lip is white and the smile seems to fade the longer Dex stays silent.

Action, Poindexter, action! He scolds himself. He finally, finally releases his hands from the constraints of his pockets and takes one of Nursey’s in his own and smooths his bottom lip (oh, God, it’s so soft and so plump, oh my God) out from between his teeth with the other and there they are, smiling at each other, like the pair of dumb defensemen they are.

“God, yes,” Dex says, tugging Nursey closer and burying his face in his neck, enveloping him in his arms. Nursey hugs him back just as tightly and Dex feels how he releases all his pent up tension.

They tangle their fingers together and almost the entirety of their arms are touching the whole way back to Nursey’s dorm and he knows their matching smiles are ridiculous, but he doesn’t find it in him to care. The intoxicating, addictive zing that pulses through him after every won fight makes him feel like he’s walking on clouds and it only gets better every time Nursey touches him or turns the full force of his smile on him.

When Nursey kisses his cheek first, when they arrive at his dorm, he retaliates by pressing one to his (gorgeous) cheekbone. Nursey kisses the corner of his mouth, but Dex turns his head at the last second, because he thought Nursey was going for one of his more prominent freckles on his upper lip, which he’d prodded at enough before today with his finger.

It’s quick and dry and chaste, but it’s still better than every victory William Poindexter has seen until then. He pulls Nursey in for one last peck, before he stuffs his hands away again. There’ll be time for more later. There’ll be plenty of time for anything they want. Nursey’s smile tells him they’re on the exact same wavelength on this one.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> a) Yes, Holsom will be everywhere from now on, I cannot help myself
> 
> b) Hope you've enjoyed this! Let me know in any way if you did!
> 
> c) Love and thanks always! Have a nice day!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to Ngozi from her webcomic Check, Please! (omgcheckplease.tumblr.com)


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